Grand Biggles
School Hallway

Grades 9 and 10

In this class, we’ll develop our critical thinking and public speaking skills as we examine current events and big social questions. We’ll learn about the school to prison pipeline, debate the risks of artificial intelligence, and participate in a mock Congress session to enable our high-schoolers to create their own proposals to improve their communities.

 

All classes will include 6-9 students per class and will also include parent updates, take-home activities, and individualized progress reports.

One Hour

Class Duration

6 to 8

Friends per Class

 

Schedule Options

If Pricing is a Concern...

Here are two ways to meet you where you are!

The DiF-Ferral Program

You tell a friend about DIF, and let them know you’ll both get a discount if they sign up. When they insert your name on our registration form, we’ll issue you both a discount. And the more people that reference you, the more you save:

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  • Refer 1-3 Friends - You'll get a 50% discount and your referrals will each receive a 20% discount.

  • Refer 4+ Friends - You'll get a 100% (full) discount and your referrals will each receive a 20% discount.

Flexible Pricing

When you sign up for a class and begin the payment process, we’ll ask if you’re in need of financial support. We’ll ask a few simple questions, request a supporting document, and then invite you to select what you’re able to pay with no further questions asked.

Course Information

Learning Goals

The Debate It Forward Big 3 Skills focus on developing and improving our Listening, Thinking, and Speaking skills by building the following micro-skills into our curriculum. They include the following focal points: LISTENING: Active Listening, Perspective Taking, Empathy, and Cooperation & Compromise. THINKING: Research & Evidence, Logical Reasoning, Problem-Solving, Argument Generation, and Ethics SPEAKING: Confidence, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Public Speaking



Course Details

Our Grandbiggles Program is our BRAND NEW high-school program for 9th and 10th graders and is capped at 9 students. This quarter, our core skills focus on argumentation and public speaking. These skills are taught Socratically, which allows students to have autonomy and ownership of their learning experience and are reinforced through fun activities, provocative topics, and interactive units. Our classes will include forensic units like a Mock Congress session where students develop competing bills to solve issues in their communities; formal debate units where they’ll examine the risks of artificial intelligence; and social-justice based advocacy units where students will explore climate change and racial justice.



Example Activity

Audience Adaptation is a challenging public speaking activity where students will be presenting on a randomly given topic but then must alter their speech to appeal to a specific audience. The audience can range from college professors to pre-schoolers to motorcyclists. The students will need to adapt their presentation on the fly to be responsive to whatever audience they’re assigned while still presenting with strong public-speaking skills.



Schedule Options

Wednesdays

Price: $300

From January 11 to March 26

5:00 to 6:00 p.m. CDT

Schedule Options

Tuesdays and Thursdays

Price: $450

From January 11 to March 26

6:00 to 7:00 p.m. CDT

Once or Twice per week

Classes